Holder for fluid container

ABSTRACT

A holder for a noncircular, hermetically sealed fluid container with a flexible sidewall has a plurality of ribs inwardly extending from at least one side wall of the container. The ribs stand off an outer surface of a container sidewall portion from the inner surface of the holder sidewall through a range of differential pressures between the contents of the container and the ambient atmosphere. This prevents the container from binding on the inner surface of the holder sidewall even when the container sidewall portion is deformed by an increase in differential pressure. The holder has application in environments in which the difference in pressure could dramatically change, such as in the interior of vehicles or the out of doors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Containers for consumer liquid products are often blow-molded of aplastic such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Many of thesecontainers are designed to be opened and then reclosed after theconsumer uses some of the liquid housed therein; as reclosed, thecontainers contain at least some atmospheric gas. Inside the resealedcontainer, the contained gas starts at ambient atmospheric pressure. Butthe gas pressure will change as the temperature changes.

PET and other plastic containers often have a round cross section butthis does not have to be the case. As blow-molded from a parison, thesidewalls of the container will expand until they hit the mold sidewall,whereupon they will conform to any shape that the manufacturer desires.In some instances these shapes are noncircular and may, for example, beelongate, have a major and a minor axis, and may have a pair of flatwalls. Alternatively these containers may be oval or polyhedral or evokethe forms of humans, animals, plants or other forms.

PET is flexible and, when a container made of it experiences an increasein interior fluid (gas or liquid) pressure beyond a certain point, theplastic sidewall will bulge and deform, and the shape of the containerwill start altering toward that of a perfect sphere (which will be acircle in cross-section). Where a holder for a noncircular fluidcontainer is provided, and where the sidewalls of the holdersubstantially conform in shape to the sidewalls of the container, thiscauses a problem. As the shape of the sidewall changes responsive to anincrease in internal pressure, the container will begin to bind againstcertain noncircular parts of the holder sidewalls. This makes thecontainer difficult or impossible to extract from the holder. Thisproblem becomes evident when the container and its holder are deployedto environments where the ambient temperature has wide variations, suchas the out of doors or the interiors of parked vehicles. A needtherefore exists for a holder for such containers that will work in awide range of temperatures and differential pressures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, a holder is provided for acontainer having a flexible container sidewall. The container is of thetype that may be hermetically sealed so as to contain a fluid at aboveambient atmospheric pressure. The container is noncircular at a firstdifferential fluid pressure of the contained fluid (relative to theambient atmospheric pressure), and is disposed on a vertical axis. Afirst container wall portion extends through a first sector relative tothe axis from a first end to a second end thereof. While the containedfluid is at the first differential fluid pressure, the first containerwall portion is radially inwardly spaced from a first length of arcextending from the first end to the second end. At least one holdersidewall is formed to be substantially in parallel to the axis and todefine a container enclosure. The enclosure has an open top adapted toaccept the container. A vertically elongate first rib inwardly extendsfrom the holder sidewall inner surface by a first depth, and is adaptedto contact an outer surface of the first container wall portion. Thefirst rib is disposed within the first sector. A vertically elongatesecond rib inwardly extends from the holder sidewall inner surface by asecond depth. The second rib is also adapted to contact the outersurface of the first container wall section. The second rib is spacedfrom the first rib but is still disposed in the first sector. The firstand second depths are preselected such that when, under the influence ofa second differential fluid pressure of the contained fluid relative toambient atmospheric pressure that is greater than the first differentialfluid pressure, the first container wall portion radially outwardlymoves toward the inner surface of the holder sidewall, the outer surfaceof the first container wall portion does not touch the inner surface ofthe holder sidewall.

In one embodiment, the container has a second container wall portionthat extends through a second sector relative to the axis, from a firstend to a second end of the second container wall portion. The secondcontainer wall portion, when the contained fluid is at the firstdifferential fluid pressure, is spaced radially inwardly from a secondlength of arc extending from the first end to the second end of thesecond container wall portion. The holder further has a verticallyelongate third rib which extends from the inner surface of the holdersidewall by a third depth. The third rib is disposed in the secondsector and is adapted to contact the second container wall portion. Avertically elongate fourth rib extends from the inner surface of theholder sidewall by a fourth depth. The fourth rib is spaced from thethird rib, is disposed in the second sector, and is adapted to contactthe second container wall portion. The third and fourth depths arepreselected such that when, under the influence of the seconddifferential fluid pressure, the second container wall portion movesradially outwardly and toward the holder sidewall, the second containerwall portion still will not touch the inner surface of the holdersidewall.

In a related aspect of the invention, a holder is provided for acontainer that has a flexible sidewall. A volume of the container isadapted to be hermetically sealed so as to contain a fluid at a pressureabove ambient atmospheric pressure. The container is disposed on avertical axis and has a first container wall portion that extendsthrough a first sector relative to the axis. The first container wallportion is substantially flat when the contained fluid is at apredetermined first differential fluid pressure relative to ambientatmospheric pressure. The holder is formed around the axis and comprisesa substantially flat first holder wall. The first holder wall bounds anenclosure of the holder. The enclosure has an open top that is adaptedto accept the container. A vertically elongate first rib inwardlyextends from the inner surface of the first holder wall by a firstdepth, is disposed in the first sector and is adapted to contact thefirst container wall portion. A vertically elongate second rib inwardlyextends from the inner surface of the first holder wall by a seconddepth, is disposed in the first sector, is spaced from the first rib andis also adapted to contact the first container wall portion. The firstand second depths are preselected such that when, under the influence ofa predetermined second differential fluid pressure (relative to ambientatmospheric pressure) inside the container, the first container wallportion radially outwardly moves toward the inner surface of the firstholder wall, the outer surface of the first container wall portion stilldoes not touch the inner surface of the first holder wall.

In one embodiment, the container has a second container wall portionthat extends through a second sector relative to the axis. The secondcontainer wall portion is substantially flat at the first differentialfluid pressure. The holder further has a substantially flat secondholder wall formed substantially in parallel to the axis and whichbounds the enclosure. The second holder wall has an inner surface. Avertically elongate third rib, disposed in the second sector, inwardlyextends from the inner surface of the second holder wall by a thirddepth, and is adapted to contact an outer surface of the secondcontainer wall portion. A vertically elongate fourth rib, disposed inthe second sector and to be spaced from the third rib, inwardly extendsfrom the inner surface of the second holder wall by a fourth depth andis likewise adapted to contact the second container wall portion. Thethird and fourth depths are preselected such that when, under theinfluence of the second differential fluid pressure, the secondcontainer wall portion radially outwardly moves toward the inner surfaceof the second holder wall, the outer surface of the second containerwall portion still does not touch the inner surface of the second holderwall.

In another related aspect of the invention, a holder is provided for acontainer having a flexible sidewall. A volume of the container isadapted to be hermetically sealed so as to contain a fluid at aboveambient atmospheric pressure. The container is disposed on a verticalaxis and is elongate in horizontal cross section. The container has amajor axis orthogonal to the vertical axis. The container has a firstcontainer wall portion which extends through a first sector relative tothe vertical axis. The first container wall portion is spaced from themajor axis. The first container wall portion assumes a firstconfiguration when the contained fluid is at a first differential fluidpressure relative to ambient atmospheric pressure. The holder is formedaround the vertical axis and includes a first holder wall that is formedsubstantially in parallel to the vertical axis and to be spaced from themajor axis. The first holder wall bounds an enclosure that has an opentop adapted to accept the container. A vertically elongate first ribextends from the inner surface of the first holder wall by a firstdepth, is disposed in the first sector, and is adapted to contact anouter surface of the first container wall portion. A vertically elongatesecond rib extends from the inner surface of the first holder wall by asecond depth, is disposed in the first sector and spaced from the firstrib, and is likewise adapted to contact the outer surface of the firstcontainer wall portion. The first and second depths are preselected suchthat when, under the influence of a predetermined second differentialfluid pressure relative to ambient atmospheric pressure that is greaterthan the first differential fluid pressure, the first container wallportion assumes a second configuration in which at least portionsthereof are radially outwardly displaced from the first configuration,the outer surface of the first container wall portion still does nottouch the inner surface of the first holder wall.

In one embodiment, the container has a second container wall portionthat extends through a second sector relative to the axis. The secondcontainer wall portion is spaced from the major axis and from the firstcontainer wall portion, and assumes a third configuration when thecontained fluid is at the first differential fluid pressure. The holderhas a second holder wall with an inner surface. A vertically elongatethird rib inwardly extends from the inner surface of the second holderwall by a third depth, is disposed in the second sector and is adaptedto contact an outer surface of the second container wall portion. Avertically elongate fourth rib inwardly extends from the inner surfaceof the second holder wall by a fourth depth, is disposed in the secondsector so as to be spaced from the third rib, and is likewise adapted tocontact the outer surface of the second container wall portion. Thethird and fourth depths are preselected such that when, under theinfluence of the second differential fluid pressure, the secondcontainer wall portion assumes a fourth configuration in which at leastportions thereof are radially outwardly spaced from the thirdconfiguration, the outer surface of the second container wall portionstill does not touch the inner surface of the second container wall.

The holder of the invention thus permits a fluid container, particularlyan empty or partially empty fluid container, to be easily extracted fromthe holder through a range of temperatures, as might occur inside theinterior of a vehicle or outside. The ribs act to prevent the binding ofthe container wall to the holder wall within this temperature range,while providing enough frictional force to lightly grip the container,preventing it from falling or bouncing out of the holder. The holder hasapplication to hermetically sealable containers with flexible sidewallsof any noncircular shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further aspects of the invention and their advantages can be discernedin the following detailed description as read in conjunction with thedrawings of exemplary embodiments, in which like characters denote likeparts and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top front perspective view of a first embodiment of theinvention, shown holding a container of fluid;

FIG. 2 is a bottom front perspective view of the holder shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top front perspective view of the holder shown in FIG. 1,without a held fluid container;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a top rear perspective view of the holder shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the holder shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a right side view of the holder shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the holder of FIG. 1, as holding a container;

FIG. 9 is a top perspective view of a second embodiment of the holder,for a larger container;

FIG. 10 is atop view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the holder,adapted to be attached to a cell phone mounting bracket;

FIG. 12 is a second perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an axial sectional view of the embodiment of shown in FIG.11;

FIG. 14 is a view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, as shown attachedto a cell phone holder,

FIG. 15 is an exploded rear perspective view of the holder and mountingbracket shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is an annotated cross sectional view of the holder shown in FIG.1, as shown holding a container with contained fluid at a firstdifferential fluid pressure; and

FIG. 17 is a cross sectional view similar to that shown in FIG. 16, butshowing the container with the contained fluid at a second differentialfluid pressure greater than the first differential fluid pressure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A first embodiment of a holder 100 according to the invention is shownin FIG. 1. The holder 100 has at least one sidewall, and in thisembodiment has eight such sidewalls arranged in an octagonal shape.Visible in this FIGURE are sidewalls 102, 104 and 106, eachsubstantially parallel to a vertical axis X. The sidewalls 102-106upwardly extend from a bottom 108 to a top 110. The sidewalls terminatein a top 110. The sidewalls 102-106 are not completely parallel to axisX, however, because they are slightly inwardly tapered from top 110 tobottom 108, so that they be more easily removed from the injection moldthat preferably makes them (see FIG. 13 and the discussion thereof). Inthis illustrated embodiment, a spring clip 114, integrally molded withholder 100 and extending upwardly from top 110 and then rearwardly anddownwardly, is provided as a means for affixing the holder 100 to asupport structure, such as a recess or handle on a vehicle door. Suchmeans for affixing alternatively could be other structures, such as theplate shown in FIG. 11 or other hooks, clips, eyes, studs or otherattachment apparatus.

The holder top 110 is open, and is adapted to receive a fluid container116, which slides or is pushed down into the enclosure defined by thesidewalls (including left sidewall 102, diagonal left front sidewall 104and front sidewall 106) of the holder 110. The enclosure defined by thesidewalls of the holder 100 has a substantially uniform cross section,although, because of wall taper, the cross sectional area will decreaseslightly as one proceeds from the top 110 to the bottom 108. Holder 100has particular application to containers 116 that are noncircular incross section, which have flexible sidewalls and whose volume may beresealed after a consumer uses some of the contents, as by cap 118. Inthe illustrated embodiments, the container 116 is blow-molded usingpolyethylene terephthalate (PET) but other plastics could be used. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the container 116 has a front panel 120 withindicia on it (such as the name of the product). The front holdersidewall 106 therefore has a cutout 122 so that these indicia may bevisible to the user. A top margin 124 of the cutout 122 therefore islower than top 110. For purposes of aesthetics and moldability, theconfiguration of the sidewalls making up the holder 110 conforms to theexternal shape of the container 116, although this could be arranged tobe otherwise. The composition and sidewall thickness of the holder ischosen such that holder 100 will be more rigid than the material makingup container 116. One such material is ABS plastic.

The container 116 may contain any of a number of consumer fluids, one ofwhich could be a hand sanitizer gel. After a consumer uses some of thecontents of the container 116, the consumer may hermetically reclose thecontainer using cap 118, which may for example be a hinged snap cap asshown, a screw cap or a pump mechanism. After use of some of thecontents, the sealed volume of the container will hold gas at ambientatmospheric pressure: the emptier the container gets, the more gas willbe contained. While a liquid will exhibit some thermal expansion,generally it is much less than what a gas will exhibit. According toBoyle's gas law, as the temperature of the gas increases, the pressureof the gas will increase linearly with it.

In FIG. 2, the holder 100 is shown to have an oblong octagonal shape andto be made up with by additional sidewalls: diagonal front rightsidewall 126, right sidewall 128, and diagonal rear right sidewall 130.Sidewalls 102, 104, 106, 126, 128 and 130 are joined together and tobottom 108 by suitable curved transitions.

As shown in FIG. 3, the holder sidewalls further include a rear sidewall300, a diagonal left rear sidewall 302, and a left sidewall 304.Sidewalls 300, 302 and 304 are joined to adjacent sidewalls and tobottom 108 by suitable curved transitions. The rear sidewall 300 has aninterior surface 306 which bounds on and helps define an enclosure 308made by the holder. A first rib 310 is formed to extend inwardly fromthe inner surface 306 and to be vertically elongate. A second rib 312 isformed to extend inwardly from the inner surface 306, to be verticallyelongate and to be spaced from the rib 310 by most of the length (in ahorizontal direction) of surface 306. The ribs 310 and 312 are taperedfrom their bottom ends to their top ends.

As seen in FIG. 4, the front sidewall 106 has an inner surface 400 fromwhich inwardly extend a vertically elongate third rib 402 and avertically elongate fourth rib 404. The fourth rib 404 is spaced fromthird rib 402 by most of the length, in a horizontal direction, of theinner surface 400. In this embodiment, no such standoff ribs areprovided for the inner surfaces of the other sidewalls 104, 106, 126,128, 302 and 304, as, for the noncircular container 116 that holder 100is adapted to hold, the container wall will deform more substantiallytoward long wall surfaces 306 and 400 than it will toward the other,shorter wall inner surfaces.

As best seen in FIG. 5, the front ribs 402 and 404 are short because ofthe occurrence of cutout 122. Ribs 310, 312, 402, 404 togetherconstitute the entire surface against which the external surface ofcontainer 116 will abut, at least within a predetermined temperature(or, more exactly, differential pressure) range. In use, and duringinsertion and extraction of the container 116, the outer surface of thecontainer 116 will slide against the inner surfaces of the ribs 310,312, 402 and 404. Within this differential pressure range, the ribs 310,312, 402 and 404 with a light frictional force, preventing the container116 from falling or bouncing out of the holder 100. But the frictionaland/or clamping force exerted by the ribs 310, 312, 402 and 404 is smallenough that a user may easily pull the container 116 out of the holder100.

This is more clearly seen in FIG. 8, which is atop view of holder 100 ashaving received a container 116. The container 116 has an outer surface800 of a first container wall portion 802, and an outer surface 804 of asecond container wall portion 806. In the condition or configurationshown, the outer surface 800 abuts the inner surfaces of ribs 402 and404, but does not touch front sidewall inner surface 400. Similarly, theouter surface 804 of the second container wall portion 806 abuts theinner surfaces of ribs 310 and 312, but does not touch rear sidewallinner surface 306. In the illustrated configuration, the contents ofcontainer 116 are at a first differential pressure relative to ambientatmospheric pressure—a differential pressure that is small enough thatcontainer wall portions 802 and 806 have not yet begun to deform butremain substantially flat or planar. The container wall portions 802 and806 will usually exhibit a level of rigidity that gives them someresistance to increases in differential pressure, such as those causedby an increase in temperature or a change in elevation (such that theambient atmospheric pressure becomes smaller and therefore thedifferential pressure becomes larger).

Outer surface 800 of container wall portion 802, in the configurationshown in FIG. 8, is elongate, is spaced from axis X, and issubstantially flat or planar. Outer surface 804 of container wallportion 806, in this first configuration, is elongate, is spaced fromaxis X, and is substantially flat or planar. Surfaces 802 and 806 areparallel to vertical axis X. Holder sidewalls 106 and 300 are parallelto container wall portions 806 and 802 before those container wallportions become distorted by pressure.

Wall portions 802 and 806 are spaced from each other by intervening wallportions 808, 810, 812, 814, 816 and 818. Wall portions 802 and 806 areconsiderably longer than any of wall portions 808-818 and the problem ofdeformation caused by differential pressure will be most pronouncedalong the wall portions 802 and 806.

FIG. 16 is a further view of container 116 in a first, undeformedconfiguration, as housed by holder 100. As shown in the cross-sectionalview of FIG. 16, the first container wall portion 802 subtends an angleκ between a first end 1600 of the wall portion 802 and a second end 1602of the wall portion 802. Angle κ defines a sector of the container 116and of the holder 100. A circular segment or arc 1604 extends betweenends 1600 and 1602. The outer surface 800 of the container wall portion802 will always be radially inwardly displaced from the circular segment1604. The ribs 402 and 404 are disposed within sector κ, and, in theillustrated embodiment, are positioned to be near respective first andsecond wall portion ends 1600, 1602.

Similarly, the second container wall portion 806 subtends an angle θbetween a first end 1606 of second wall portion 806 and a second end1608 of the second wall portion 806. Angle θ defines a second sectorwhich, in the illustrated embodiment, is angularly spaced from sector κ.A circular segment or arc 1610 extends between ends 1606 and 1608. Theexternal surface 804 of the second wall portion 806 will always beradially inwardly displaced from the circular segment 1610. The ribs 310and 312 are disposed within sector θ, and, in the illustratedembodiment, are positioned to be near respective first and second wallportion ends 1606 and 1608.

FIG. 17 shows container 116 in a second configuration, when thedifferential pressure between the contents of container 116 and theambient atmospheric pressure has reached a second differential pressure.This may occur, for example, when the interior of a vehicle in which thecontainer sits reaches 100 F or some other predetermined temperature. Atthis second differential pressure, the outer surface 804 of second wallportion 806, and the outer surface 800 of first wall portion 802, havedeformed and have been displaced radially outwardly from their positionsthat they had in the first configuration (FIGS. 8 and 16). The wallportions 806 and 802 are no longer flat. Responsive to an increase inthe differential pressure, the wall portions 806 and 802 seek to attaina more circular cross section. Nonetheless, the depths of each of theribs 310, 312, 402 and 404 have been preselected such that, at thissecond differential pressure, the deformed and displaced outer containerwall portion surfaces 800 and 804 do not yet touch the inner surfaces400 and 306 of the long sidewalls 300 and 106. Therefore, and at thissecond differential pressure, the wall portions 802 and 806 do not bindon the holder sidewalls 106 and 300, and the container 116 may still beeasily inserted and extracted from holder 100. In the illustratedembodiment, the rib depths (from the inner surface of the holdersidewall to an end surface of the rib) are the same, one rib to thenext, but this could be chosen otherwise. For example, the depths of oneor more ribs on a longer wall could be chosen to be greater than thedepths of other ribs extending from shorter walls.

It has been discovered that, in the illustrated embodiment, ribs similarto ribs 310, 312, 402 and 404 do not have to be provided for the shortersidewalls. In general, a plurality of such spaced-apart ribs areprovided only along the longer of the container walls, as deformation orbulging will be most prominent at these places.

As also seen in FIG. 17, the present invention has application to thosecontainers that are elliptical or otherwise are oblong, such that theywill have a major axis 1700 and a minor axis 1702, both horizontal andorthogonal to axis X. In containers of this kind, one elongate wallportion 802 will be on one side and spaced from the major axis 1700, andanother, opposing elongate wall portion 806 will be on the other sideand spaced from the major axis 1700. The provision of ribs 310, 312,402, 404 (and possibly others) prevents the binding of the containerwall inside the holder 100.

The present invention has application to containers, and holderstherefor, having other noncircular shapes, particularly those shapesincorporating long wall portions (such as wall portions 802, 806) thatsubstantially depart from a circular cross section. In such containers,ribs, such as ribs 310, 312, 402, 404 are provided on the interiorsurface of the holder, so as to contact such long wall portions, andspace such walls off of the holder walls both when they are in a firstconfiguration at a first, relatively low differential pressure, and whenthey are in a second configuration at a second, relatively highdifferential pressure. In the second configuration, at least portions ofthe long walls (which in other embodiments may take an irregular shape)are displaced radially outwardly from the positions they assume while inthe first configuration. One such class of containers have a triangularor square cross-sectional form.

The wall or walls making up the held container may be somewhat elasticas well as flexible. In this instance, the container will radiallyexpand as the pressure of its contained fluid increases. The ribsaccording to the invention also provide some protection against thiscause of the container walls binding against the holder sidewalls.

FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the invention. Holder 900 is meantto hold a container having a much larger volume of fluid (such as 8ounces rather than 2 ounces), and as such the relative distortion of aflexible, noncircular container wall will be more of a problem. Thisbeing the case, a depth of the ribs 902, 904, 906 and 908 aredisproportionately larger. Ribs 902 and 904 are disposed on the innersurface of a long rear sidewall 910 so as to be vertically elongate andto be spaced from each other. Ribs 906 and 908 are disposed on the innersurface of a long front sidewall 912, so as to be vertically elongateand to be spaced from each other. The holder 900 and the container it isadapted to hold (not shown) are octagonal in shape, with sidewalls 910and 912 being substantially longer than the rest of the sidewalls ofholder 900.

A top view of this second embodiment is shown in FIG. 10.

A third embodiment is shown in FIG. 11. This embodiment is similar tothe one in FIG. 1, but instead of a clip 114, a plate 1100 outwardlyextends from an outer surface 1102 of a rear sidewall 1104 of the holder1106. The plate 1100 has screw holes 1108, 1110 for attachment to a cellphone mounting bracket 1400 (FIG. 14).

An axial sectional view of holder 1106 is shown in FIG. 13. This sectionshows that the rear sidewall 1104 and the front sidewall 1300 areinwardly tapered from the top 1302 to the bottom 1304 of the holder1106. Hence, in this and the other embodiments, the sidewalls are notstrictly parallel to vertical axis X, but are substantially so. Thistaper exists so that the holder 1106 may be extracted from the moldingtool. To compensate for this taper, rear ribs 1306 (one shown) and frontribs 1308 (one shown) have a depth that is greater toward top 1302 thanthey are at bottom 1304. This makes their inner surfaces 1310, 1312more, or exactly, parallel to axis X.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-9 and 11-17, the depths of the ribsvary in the range of about 1.2 mm at the bottom to about 2.0 mm at thetop. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9-10, the depths of the ribs varybetween about 2.7 mm at the bottom to about 3.6 mm at the top.

FIG. 15 shows how the holder 1106 is attached to a cell phone mountingbracket 1400 by inserting a clamping screw 1500 through screw hole 1110and using a knob 1502 to clamp the plate 1100 to the mounting bracket1400. The plate 1100 is forwardly concave so as to fit to a convexprofile 1504 on the rear of bracket 1400. Screw hole 1108 is usedinstead for attachment of holder 1106 to cell phone mounting bracketshaving larger jaws.

In summary, holders are provided for noncircular fluid containers havingflexible sidewalls. Ribs are provided to stand off the outer surface ofthe container within a range of differential pressures, so that thecontainer may be inserted into and extracted from the holder atdifferent ambient temperatures and/or atmospheric pressures.

While illustrated embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed and illustrated in the appended drawings, the presentinvention is not limited thereto but only by the scope and spirit of theappended claims.

I claim:
 1. A holder for a container having a flexible containersidewall, a volume of the container adapted to be hermetically sealed soas to contain a fluid at above ambient atmospheric pressure, thecontainer being noncircular at a first differential fluid pressure ofthe contained fluid relative to ambient atmospheric pressure, thecontainer disposed on a vertical axis, a first container wall portionextending through a first sector relative to the axis from a first endof the first container wall portion to a second end of the firstcontainer wall portion, the first container wall portion, while thefluid is at the first differential fluid pressure, spaced radiallyinwardly from a length of arc extending from the first end to the secondend of the first container wall portion, the holder formed around theaxis and comprising: at least one holder sidewall formed substantiallyin parallel to the axis to define a container enclosure, the at leastone holder sidewall having an inner surface, the enclosure having anopen top adapted to accept the container; a vertically elongate firstrib inwardly extending from the inner surface of said at least oneholder sidewall by a first depth and adapted to contact an outer surfaceof the first container wall portion, the first rib disposed within thefirst sector; and a vertically elongate second rib inwardly extendingfrom the inner surface of said at least one holder sidewall by a seconddepth and adapted to contact the outer surface of the first containerwall section, the second rib spaced from the first rib and disposedwithin the first sector, the first and second depths preselected suchthat when, under the influence of a predetermined second differentialfluid pressure of the contained fluid relative to ambient atmosphericpressure that is greater than the first differential fluid pressure, thefirst container wall portion radially outwardly moves toward the innersurface of the at least one holder sidewall, the outer surface of thefirst container wall portion does not touch the inner surface of the atleast one holder sidewall.
 2. The holder of claim 1, wherein the firstdepth is the same as the second depth.
 3. The holder of claim 1, whereinthe at least one holder sidewall is formed of a material that is lessflexible than the material making up the first container wall portion.4. The holder of claim 3, wherein the holder is molded of an ABS polymercompound and is adapted to hold a container molded of PET.
 5. The holderof claim 1, wherein the enclosure has a height and a substantiallyuniform cross sectional area throughout the height.
 6. The holder ofclaim 5, wherein the holder has a bottom and the at least one holdersidewall has a predetermined degree of taper toward the bottomsufficient to permit the holder to be extracted from a molding tool. 7.The holder of claim 6, wherein the first depth and the second depth ofthe ribs vary as a function of height, the first and second depths beinggreater toward the top of the holder and smaller toward the bottom ofthe holder, so as to compensate for the degree of taper of the at leastone holder sidewall.
 8. The holder of claim 1, wherein the first rib isadapted to contact the first container wall portion near the first endof the container wall portion, the second rib being adapted to contactthe first container wall portion near the second end of the containerwall portion.
 9. The holder of claim 1, wherein the container has asecond container wall portion extending through a second sector relativeto the axis from a first end of the second container wall portion to asecond end of the container wall portion, the second container wallportion, while the contained fluid is at the first differential fluidpressure, spaced radially inwardly from a second length of arc extendingfrom the first end to the second end of the second container wallportion, the holder further comprising: a vertically elongate third ribinwardly extending from the inner surface of said at least one holdersidewall by a third depth and adapted to contact an outer surface of thesecond container wall portion, the third rib positioned in the secondsector; and a vertically elongate fourth rib inwardly extending from theinner surface of said at least one holder sidewall by a fourth depth andadapted to contact the outer surface of the second container wallportion, the fourth rib positioned in the second sector to be spacedfrom the third rib, the third and fourth depths preselected such thatwhen, under the influence of the second differential fluid pressure, thesecond container wall radially outwardly moves toward the inner surfaceof the at least one holder sidewall, the outer surface of the secondcontainer wall portion does not touch the inner surface of the at leastone holder sidewall.
 10. The holder of claim 9, wherein the secondsector is angularly spaced from the first sector.
 11. The holder ofclaim 1, wherein a shape of the at least one holder sidewall within thefirst sector is similar to a shape of the first container wall portion.12. The holder of claim 1, wherein the fluid consists of or compriseshand sanitizer.
 13. The holder of claim 1, wherein the fluid inside ofthe container is at least partly a gas.
 14. The holder of claim 1,wherein the first and second depths are selected from the range of about1.2 mm to about 2.0 mm.
 15. The holder of claim 1, wherein the first andsecond depths are selected from the range of about 2.7 mm to about 3.6mm.
 16. The holder of claim 1, further comprising means, integrallymolded with the at least one holder sidewall, for attaching the holderto a support structure.
 17. The holder of claim 16, wherein said meansis a spring clip extending from the at least one holder sidewall at thetop of the enclosure.
 18. The holder of claim 16, wherein said means isa plate, outwardly extending from the at least one holder sidewall, forattaching to a cell phone mounting bracket.
 19. A holder for a containerhaving a flexible sidewall, a volume of the container adapted to behermetically sealed so as to contain a fluid at above ambientatmospheric pressure, the container disposed on a vertical axis andhaving a first container wall portion extending through a first sectorrelative to the axis, the first container wall portion beingsubstantially flat at a predetermined first differential fluid pressurerelative to ambient atmospheric pressure, the holder formed around theaxis and comprising: a substantially flat first holder wall formed to besubstantially in parallel to and spaced from the axis and bounding anenclosure, the first holder wall having an inner surface, the enclosurehaving an open top adapted to accept the container; a verticallyelongate first rib inwardly extending from the inner surface of thefirst holder wall by a first depth and adapted to contact an outersurface of the first container wall portion, the first rib disposedwithin the first sector; and a vertically elongate second rib inwardlyextending from the inner surface of the first holder wall by a seconddepth and adapted to contact the outer surface of the first containerwall portion, the second rib disposed within the second sector so as tobe spaced from the first rib, the first and second depths preselectedsuch that when, under the influence of a predetermined seconddifferential fluid pressure of the contained fluid, relative to ambientatmospheric pressure, that is greater than the first fluid pressure, thefirst container wall portion radially outwardly moves toward the innersurface of the first holder wall, the outer surface of the firstcontainer wall portion does not touch the inner surface of the firstholder wall.
 20. The holder of claim 19, wherein the container has asecond container wall portion extending through a second sector relativeto the axis, the second wall portion being substantially flat at thefirst differential fluid pressure, the holder further comprising: asubstantially flat second holder wall formed in parallel to the axis andbounding the enclosure, the second holder wall having an inner surface;a vertically elongate third rib inwardly extending from the innersurface of the second holder wall by a third depth and adapted tocontact an outer surface of the second wall portion of the container,the third rib disposed within the second sector; and a verticallyelongate fourth rib inwardly extending from the inner surface of thesecond holder wall by a fourth depth and adapted to contact the outersurface of the second wall portion of the container, the fourth ribdisposed within the second sector to be spaced from the third rib, thethird and fourth depths preselected such that when, under the influenceof the second differential fluid pressure, the second container wallportion radially outwardly moves toward the inner surface of the secondholder wall, the outer surface of the second container wall portion doesnot touch the inner surface of the second holder wall.
 21. The holder ofclaim 20, wherein the first container wall portion is substantiallyparallel to the second container wall portion and wherein the firstholder wall is substantially parallel to the second holder wall.
 22. Aholder for a container having a flexible sidewall, a volume of thecontainer adapted to be hermetically sealed so as to contain a fluid atabove ambient atmospheric pressure, the container disposed on a verticalaxis, the container being elongate in horizontal cross section andhaving a major axis orthogonal to the vertical axis, the containerhaving a first wall portion extending through a first sector relative tothe vertical axis, the first container wall portion being spaced fromthe major axis, the first container wall portion assuming a firstconfiguration at a predetermined first differential fluid pressurerelative to ambient atmospheric pressure, the holder formed around thevertical axis and comprising: a first holder wall formed substantiallyin parallel to the vertical axis and to be spaced from the major axis,the first holder wall bounding an enclosure, the first holder wallhaving an inner surface, the enclosure having an open top adapted toaccept the container; a vertically elongate first rib inwardly extendingfrom the inner surface of the first holder wall by a first depth andadapted to contact an outer surface of the first container wall portion,the first rib disposed within the first sector; and a verticallyelongate second rib inwardly extending from the inner surface of thefirst holder wall by a second depth and adapted to contact the secondcontainer wall portion, the second rib disposed within the first sectorso as to be spaced from the first rib, the first and second depthspreselected such that when, under the influence of a predeterminedsecond differential fluid pressure, relative to ambient atmosphericpressure, that is greater than the first differential fluid pressure,the first container wall portion assumes a second configuration in whichat least portions thereof are radially outwardly displaced from thefirst configuration, the outer surface of the first container wallportion does not touch the inner surface of the first holder wall. 23.The holder of claim 22, wherein the container has a second containerwall portion extending through a second sector relative to the axis, thesecond container wall portion being spaced from the major axis and fromthe first container wall portion, the second container wall portionassuming a third configuration at the first differential fluid pressure,the holder further comprising: a second holder wall formed to besubstantially in parallel to the vertical axis and bounding theenclosure, the second holder wall having an inner surface; a verticallyelongate third rib inwardly extending from the inner surface of thesecond holder wall by a third depth and adapted to contact an outersurface of the second container wall portion, the third rib disposed inthe second sector; and a vertically elongate fourth rib inwardlyextending from the inner surface of the second holder wall by a fourthdepth and adapted to contact the outer surface of the second containerwall portion, the fourth rib spaced from the third rib and disposed inthe second sector, the third and fourth depths preselected such thatwhen, under the influence of the second differential fluid pressure, thesecond container wall portion assumes a fourth configuration in which atleast portions thereof are radially outwardly displaced from the thirdconfiguration, the outer surface of the second container wall portiondoes not touch the inner surface of the second holder wall.